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The contributor offers a reconsideration, based only on historical facts, of the “Judenrat Question” pointing out how those tragic figure had been overburdened by events and circumstances clearly out of their control and did their best in order to savage what possible. After explaining who the Judenrat had been, some meaningful rabbinical responses are quoted in order to rebuke theories worked out by persons who never had to face a Nazi official. The contributor recalls how the Nazis obtained legally the power first in Germany and, later, by overrunning other countries. The Judenrat had to cope with many problems in their attempt to help fellow inmates and to face under heavy duress the lower ranking Nazi officials who hold little power and, themselves, were spied upon. Being between hammer and anvil the Judenrat certainly could not care about their future, after war, image in various essays. Only very few of those tragic figures survived and had to face heavy accusations due to hysteria, persecution complexes, interest in discrediting witnesses of wrong doing and political reasons. The still lasting accusations to have been informed about the Gas Chambers and not having called fellow inmates to revolts turn out as not consistent.

This text has been presented and discussed at the conference "Politiche di sopravvivenza alle persecuzioni" which had been held at the "Accademia Galileiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti" in Padova, Italy, October 28th and 29th 2010.